IELTS raw score to band: how many correct answers for Band 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5 and 8

IELTS raw score to band: the quick table

Each row shows the approximate number of correct answers out of 40 needed for that band, taken from IDP IELTS Thailand's official Listening and Reading band score tables. Listening is the same test for Academic and General Training candidates; Reading has separate Academic and General Training tables.

Why every number is approximate

IELTS publishes these conversions as guides, not fixed cut-offs. ielts.org states that the precise number of marks needed for a band varies slightly from test version to test version, and IDP describes its tables as the average number of marks required. A slightly harder paper can need a mark less for the same band, and an easier one a mark more.

Sources also differ at the edges. ielts.org's own worked figures put Band 7 at about 30 marks in Listening and Academic Reading and about 35 in General Training Reading, while IDP's General Training table starts Band 7 at 34; some third-party tables set the Academic Reading cut-offs for 6.5 and 7.5 one mark higher than IDP does. The safe plan is to aim two marks above the bottom of the range you need.

Academic vs General Training Reading: why General Training needs more correct answers

Both Reading tests are reported on the same 0–9 band scale, but General Training uses everyday and workplace texts rather than academic articles. IELTS therefore usually requires more correct answers in General Training Reading for the same band — compare about 30 correct for Band 7 in Academic Reading with about 34–35 in General Training.

Listening is identical for both versions, so the Listening table applies whichever test you take.

What Band 6.5 or 7 means in mistakes you can afford

Turning the table into a mistake budget makes your practice target concrete.

How the overall IELTS band is calculated and rounded

Your overall band is the average of your four skill bands, rounded to the nearest half band. ielts.org adds the tie-break rule: an average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band.

• 6.5 + 6.5 + 5.0 + 7.0 = 25 ÷ 4 = 6.25 → overall 6.5 (ielts.org's own example)
• 7.0 + 7.0 + 6.5 + 6.5 = 27 ÷ 4 = 6.75 → overall 7.0
• 7.0 + 6.5 + 6.0 + 6.0 = 25.5 ÷ 4 = 6.375 → overall 6.5
• 6.0 + 6.0 + 6.0 + 6.5 = 24.5 ÷ 4 = 6.125 → overall 6.0

Writing and Speaking have no raw score

Writing and Speaking are not counted in correct answers. Examiners award a band for each of four criteria — in Writing, Task Achievement (Task 1) or Task Response (Task 2), Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy; in Speaking, Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation. In Writing, Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1.

With no answer key, these two skills are where feedback matters most. Free practice at engforedu.com/journey scores your writing and speaking against these criteria and shows what to fix, and the free speaking game at engforedu.com/pine-speak gives you daily out-loud practice.

Use the calculator, then close the gap

Enter your practice raw scores and your Writing and Speaking estimates into the free band calculator at engforedu.com/tools/ielts-band-calculator to see your likely overall band and how rounding affects it.

Then spend most of your practice time on the skill furthest below your target. Timed Listening and Reading sets at engforedu.com/journey mark themselves instantly, so you can watch your raw score climb week by week instead of guessing.